Aaron Rodgers Suggests 'Certain People' with Packers Wouldn't Welcome Him Back in Retirement

Even after his playing career comes to an end, Aaron Rodgers isn't sure the Green Bay Packers will bring him back to Lambeau Field.

Appearing on ESPN Milwaukee Radio's Wilde and Tausch show on Thursday (h/t ESPN's Rob Demovsky), Rodgers suggested there are "certain people" currently working for the Packers who might not be keen to have him back in the building:

"I think there's some people that have a lot of affection for me, and I would assume we're talking four or five years from now that there will be fans who still have appreciation for what I've done, especially after so much time has passed. I think there's certain people in the building who wouldn't be totally on board, and maybe I wouldn't be on board if they were still there as well."

Rodgers didn't specifically mention anyone, but his relationship with Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst took a turn during the 2020 NFL draft when the team traded up to select Jordan Love with the No. 26 pick.

Even though there were fissures in the immediate aftermath of Love's selection, The Athletic's Matt Schneidman reported in May 2023 that it was "early" in the 2021 offseason that Rodgers' agent called Packers president Mark Murphy with a request to either fire Gutekunst or trade Rodgers coming off an MVP season.

Murphy retired from his position with the Packers in July 2025.

On the day of the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, Rodgers reportedly told Packers officials he wanted to be traded. They held firm in not moving him and remained together for two more seasons, with Rodgers winning another MVP award during the 2021 campaign.

Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets in April 2023, ending his 18-year tenure in Green Bay.

The Packers have some history with acrimonious quarterback breakups and repairing relationships. Brett Favre, who similarly watched the organization draft his successor when they took Rodgers in 2005, had a tumultuous dynamic with the club at the end before he was traded to the Jets in August 2008.

Things were eventually worked out between Favre and the Packers that he returned to Lambeau Field during the 2015 season to have his No. 4 jersey retired.

That was more than four years after Favre retired from the NFL. It remains to be seen if it would take Rodgers that long to get his No. 12 jersey retired, but it would seem almost certain to happen at some point given how important he is to the history of the franchise.

In the meantime, Rodgers will begin his 22nd NFL season on Sunday when he leads the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium.